


So it begins

by starknakedtony



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, feel good stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-10
Updated: 2013-08-10
Packaged: 2017-12-23 00:44:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/919987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starknakedtony/pseuds/starknakedtony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knows Tony’s staring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So it begins

**Author's Note:**

> I’m going with Tony having brown eyes here…and this turned out longer than I’d expected. Sorry. There’s no sex though, because I can’t write sexy times for the love of me. I’m writing this in the middle of my prep for exams and it’s been a few months since my previous fic so bear with me? Constructive criticism would be appreciated :)

He knows Tony’s staring.

There's a very sudden tingly sensation he feels as Tony's eyes bore through his back. He wants to turn around, to challenge that stare, because hell, it was always a competition between them.

But Steve lets the angel get the better of him, so he lets it slide. He doesn’t turn around, just walks out of the room.

Tony smirks. He’s won this time.

—-

Two weeks later, they have one of their Avengers meetings. Steve’s diligently paying attention, all the while twirling a pencil between his quick fingers. Tony’s dying of boredom and he lets it show, as always.

Fury ignores Tony’s whining, as always.

Steve looks over at his teammate and clicks his tongue in annoyance, but he seems to be the only one who was perturbed by Tony’s behaviour. The rest seem to have gotten used to it.

So he doesn’t say a word.

But after the meeting, he does. He walks up behind Tony and suppresses the tiny shiver of pleasure when Tony jumps at the touch of Steve’s hand. It’s the usual stuff: could you at least pretend to pay attention, stop being such a snob, do you only think about yourself?

And all Tony does is regain his composure, then throws his signature smirk at Steve. He doesn’t argue, just keeps eye contact with the soldier for a while, until Steve starts to squirm from the sudden attention. Tony laughs, and he walks away before Steve could mutter another word. The Captain curses himself, rubs the back of his head and stalks away.

Tony knows Steve hates looking at him in the eyes. As much of a challenge the good Captain was, he could never be victorious in a staring contest with Tony. Steve would be blushing and fidgeting within 5 seconds. Sometimes Tony wondered if Steve was secretly in love with him. Laughter bubbles through his mouth suddenly, because there’s a ridiculous thought.

This time, Tony’s won again.

—-

He doesn’t know when it happens.

A sudden shock in his system, the sudden reddening of his face and the sudden stuttering leaves him wondering what the fuck has Tony done to him.

It couldn’t have been because two weeks ago, he’d almost lost Tony to an alien army invasion, and realised that everything he has known about Iron Man was stupidly false? It surely couldn’t have been because Tony had thrown his body in the line of fire when he realised that the alien army was starting to get the better of the Avengers?

Steve shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He was sure those were actual reasons- his respect for Tony has gone up by a huge amount- but he couldn’t, for the love of him, figure out what this was.

As if on cue, Tony saunters into the kitchen, face and clothes smudged in black patches of grease. His hands were relatively clean, and his dark hair stuck up at odd, random angles. Tony doesn’t see Captain America for a second, but when he does, his back straightens and the familiar smugness returns. His mouth stretches into a lazy grin that Tony knows annoys Steve more than anything.

But just this once, and for the first time, probably, Steve ignores the arrogance. He doesn’t roll his eyes at Tony, and neither does he walk away without acknowledging the other man’s presence.

Steve stares, and wonders.

Wonders about the Tony who just walked in, thinks about how adorable he looked when he entered the kitchen all disheveled and unguarded. How his eyes searched for the coffee maker instantly and failed to notice Steve at first. And those eyes…large, chocolate brown orbs that could be perfect puppy eyes if they weren’t always ready to shoot Steve death glares.

Tony clears his throat. Steve startles out of his reverie.

He picks up his newspapers awkwardly, then shuffles out of the kitchen. Tony watches his teammate till he’s completely out of sight. He wonders what the hell happened.

This time, Tony doesn’t know if he’s won.

—-

Tony doesn’t know when it happens.

"Stark!" Captain Rogers yells from somewhere at the back when Tony gets shot with a blast of something hot and powerful, and it sends him flying backwards and crashing into a wall. He’s aware that he’s hit his head real hard this time, even with the protection of the suit piece. “Sir, are you alright?" JARVIS asks, sounding considerably human, and Tony grunts, shaking his head to ease the pain.

It doesn’t work.

"Stark! Answer me!" Rogers yells from his ear piece, but Tony doesn’t reply. He can’t- he can’t make a sound. The pain sears through his skull like cracks fracturing through ice, and he can’t- move. He can’t move.

Another blast hits him, and Tony is sent through the wall, and onto something hard. His back hits the object, and before he could even react, he was attacked again. Tony was aware that he was somewhat lying on the top of a car, or at least the remains of a car.

"Stark!"

God damn it. He couldn’t move. The world shifted slightly, and Tony was vaguely aware that his head injury was taking its toll. He tried speaking. “JARVIS…"

And he blacked out.

The next thing he knew when he opened his eyes, was that he was in a place that was seriously too bright and too white, and his head was wrapped up in something thick and soft. Everyone was there, even Fury. No one sensed Tony’s consciousness.

Tony felt his hand in the warmth of someone else’s, and he looked over to his bedside. Jesus, even moving his eyes hurt his head.

Much to his surprise, Steve was sitting beside his bed, with Tony’s right hand in both of his own. Tony felt fingers brushing across the back of his hand and dipping downwards to caress his wrist, and his mind reminded him of how inappropriate it should have been.

But it was comforting, so instead of speaking, he shut his eyes and went back to sleep.

This time, Tony didn’t win, but he was glad his teammates did.

—-

Steve knows Tony’s staring.

Instead of avoiding it, he turns to look back at the genius playboy billionaire whatever. Steve hates those things Tony calls himself. Tony’s just Tony. Genius, playboy, billionaire… It all sounded cruelly cold to him. Like Tony was nothing but titles.

And he sure wasn’t.

Their eyes meet. Neither of them looks away.

Clint walks in and whistles at the tension. “Cool it, will you?" He says, but Steve thinks he’s mistaken.

This was no longer hatred. It was…something else.

But before Steve could figure out what it was, Tony stood up and left the room.

This time, no one wins, but no one loses either.

—-

A week later, Steve thinks he should apologize. Then maybe subtly inform Tony about his crush.

He does the apologizing part pretty well, and Tony’s completely cool with it. But the latter…

"You gonna be free tonight?" Steve asks, and hopes his voice doesn’t give away too much. Tony looks at him for a moment, his brown eyes studying the Captain’s face, then he shrugs. “I have a date with Pepper." He answers.

Steve stills.

"You and Pepper? A date?" He asks again, hoping he didn’t sound squeaky or like he was prying about Tony’s business.

Tony shrugs again. “Yeah. She kinda asked me out a week ago."

"And…do you, uh, like her?"

"What?"

"I mean, do you like her. Like, like like her."

Tony rolls his eyes. “Steve, please don’t speak like a teenage boy who just went through puberty and discovered the wonders of sex. And yeah, I have feelings for her. She’s special. I honestly don’t know what I would have been like if she hadn’t appeared in my life."

Steve tries to process that, then he nods stiffly. He mutters a quick “nevermind" and leaves Tony’s lab.

Tony stares at Steve’s retreating back. He knows, he’s not dumb after all. But he’s afraid. The consequences would be too heavy for them both to bear. Pepper would be the safe option.

Tony knows he’s doing the right thing, but he feels like he’s lost this time.

—-

So life continues, and they speak less. Pepper’s great, better than Tony’s ever known. Turns out she’s a wonderful girlfriend, and gives Tony all the warmth he needs. It’s nice to finally rip himself away from the playboy tag and have the world view him as a loving and faithful boyfriend. Pepper’s proud of him.

A month after That Embarassing Event aka that one time he tried to ask Tony out, Steve decides to move out of Stark tower. He couldn’t deal with the awkwardness and embarrassment of having an infatuation with his teammate and not having his feelings reciprocated. He couldn’t deal with his teammates joking about his and Tony’s ‘love-hate relationship’. But, Steve thinks, what he can’t deal with the most is watching Pepper and Tony being so loving. He hates the way she gets to touch Tony in the smallest ways, like tucking his hair behind his ear, or arranging his tie and kissing him goodbye. He wanted to hate Pepper so much, but she was too kind to him.

His teammates asked him if everything was fine. They seemed to notice something was off between Cap and Iron Man, so they stopped the jokes, or at least reduced the number of times they’ve teased him (Clint keeps on going with it, but Steve doesn’t blame him. He could be adorably out of the circle sometimes). Bruce even started telling him jokes to cheer him up. Steve kind of smiles, and wonders how sad he must have been if they had to resort to the Hulk to attempt to lighten the mood.

The day he leaves, he gathers everyone in the living room, everyone except Tony. He would have preferred to leave quietly, but Steve figured he had to at least thank them for being thoughtful with him in the past month. So he tells them and he watches their reactions. It takes a moment before Thor walks towards him and pats his back ("Do what you deem best."), Bruce just stays solemn, like he’s expected it, Clint is extremely confused ("What the fuck did I miss?!"), and Natasha stares into his soul.

She nods, and Steve realises that she already knows.

His insides crumble a little bit more.

When Tony comes back, Steve’s gone. Clint goes up to him and breathes in his face. Asks him what the fuck has he done this time. Tony doesn’t know.

Bruce shakes his head at Tony. “You should have taken it easy on him." He says, and places a hand on Tony’s shoulder for a brief moment. Thor just looks pissed at Tony. And Tony doesn’t know what the fuck he’s done.

Natasha comes at him then, swatting him at the back of his head with her palm, and gives him the look.

Tony stares back at her.

"Give him a call." She says, and moves away. So Tony goes to his room and pulls out his phone. He calls Steve.

"What’s this about? Where are you going? What have I done?" He questions, but he grimaces when he sounds more demanding than anything else.

"Nothing. I just missed my old house. It’s small but cozy." Steve replies. The background’s completely quiet.

"And it’s not here at Stark tower?"

"No, not really." Steve answers softly, and what could Tony really say to that?

"Okay," he replies, and when the silence goes on for another 20 seconds, he hears the click on the other end of the line. Tony’s face crumbles. He doesn’t know what he’s done, and he doesn’t know how to fix it. His knees fall to the ground and Tony covers his face with his hands.

He’s lost. Even when he has Pepper, Tony’s lost.

—-

"I need to talk to you."

"I’m kind of busy at the moment, Tony."

"Okay, doing what?"

"Doing-it doesn’t matter."

"Well then open up."

"Open what?"

"The door, Steve. Your front door."

Steve does open the front door, and he comes face to face with Tony Stark.

"How long have you been out here?" He asks the first thing that pops into his head, not quite believing his eyes. Tony looks like he always does, with a dark blue tee that fit tightly across his chest and casual long pants.

"Not too long." Came Tony’s reply. Then, “You look good. A date, I suppose."

Steve looks down at himself. He’s got a white buttoned up shirt complete with a beige tie, and black tuxedo pants. “May I come in?" Tony asks, then pushes his way in before his friend can reply.

"I’m kind of in the middle of something." Steve closes the door and plants his hands on his hips. He looks at Tony while the other man glances around and walks into various items on his journey to the couch. Steve couldn’t help but grin, as it was an adorable sight, watching Tony so out of sorts.

"I came to talk to you." Tony says, placing his hands awkwardly on his lap, as if he’s got no space to really sit comfortably. “Yeah well can it wait? I’m in a rush." Steve says and goes to the mirror to straighten his tie.

"In a rush for what, Steve? Can’t your date wait?" Tony sounds like his angry, but Steve tries not to turn to check.

"No, actually. I’ve known her for a while now, she’s not very patient." He says while continuing his ministrations. He straightens his shirt and flashes a smile at the mirror to make sure his teeth are good to go.

"She doesn’t sound like a good date if she can’t even wait a while for someone she likes." Tony grumbles, and the Captain rolls his eyes at his reflection. He catches himself doing it, realizing that he only rolls his eyes when Tony was around. “Okay fine, what is it?"

Tony pauses.

Steve turns to look at him. “Stop being dramatic, Tony. Just say it."

Tony sputters. “Dramati- I have been called a lot of things but none of them wer-"

"So you were saying?" Steve cuts him off, and he takes his jacket from its hanger and drapes it over his back. He listens as he fits his arms into the sleeves. “It’s difficult for me to say this, God…I don’t know how to say it. Especially when you’re like this, when you’re ready to go on a fucking date and-" Tony breathes. “I- I broke up with Pep."

Steve freezes.

"You broke up with Pep?" A pause. “Pepper? Pepper Potts?" He tries to confirm, and this time Tony rolls his eyes. “God damn, Steve, how many people do you know are nicknamed after condiments?" His smirks falls short when he sees Steve staring back at him.

"I just uh-" Tony cleared his throat. “I wanted this a long time ago. I don’t know if you felt it, but I did. I can’t tell you when it happened, but I think it was when I was hospitalized and you were there everyday and you looked really worried and it was the first time anyone has ever cared for me like this. At first I told myself that I only felt different about you because you cared. I tried to stop it, suppress it, whatever. It didn’t work. My point is, whenever I see you walking around it takes my breath away and you didn’t even have to do much-"

"Then why didn’t you tell me?" Steve asked, and- was he getting closer?

"I was scared. I always thought I was straight, I swear to you, Steve. I’ve never so much as glanced at another man’s direction, and I didn’t know what the fuck it was when I fell for you. And then Pepper asked me out and I thought okay, this is the time to prove that I was fucking delusional back then and this is the woman I’m in love with, because why the fuck not- she’s crazy pretty, she’s understanding, she’s funny, she’s capable, she’s caring, she’s warm, she’s intelligent, she runs my life great-"

"Okay Tony, I get it." Steve says, urging him to continue with the relevant parts. Tony smirks at Steve’s response, just a little.

"But when I started a relationship with her, it-it just kind of fell apart. And then you left and it almost killed me, Steve. The other guys told me it was all my fault and when I called you you didn’t even sound like you were thinking twice about your decision to leave. And so I think I was in this state of insanity for a while after that, and everyday I stayed in my lab to tinker and create nonsense, and I created so many different kinds of suits- you should see them sometime- and it’s ridiculous how they’re all mostly successful but I don’t even feel the slightest bit happy and it turns out Pep figured it out a lot faster than I did and she told me what was going on and she kicked my ass all the way here to tell you all these. Like I said, she’s understanding. So my real point is, remember that time you tried to ask me out and I told you I wasn’t free? Well I’m free tonight."

And Tony thinks he’s almost half dead because he can’t catch his breath. He looks up at Steve hopefully, but not too hopefully because Tony Stark was cool.

But Steve sees it in those eyes, and remembers when he first noticed those big, puppy, chocolate orbs. The death glares were gone now, all was left was a softness he didn’t know Tony had in him. And Steve thinks what the hell is he doing, he could be kissing Tony right now and he chooses to focus on his eyes?!

So he finally moves forward, and captures Tony’s lips with his own. His hands reach up to cup Tony’s face and the smaller man grabs him by the front of his jacket to pull him closer.

Tony thinks, he’s got it right this time. It’s never felt so right, not even with Pepper.

Their lips part, but Steve chases Tony’s lips with another soft peck, and the genius smiles in that stupid, mesmerised, romantic way like they do in romance dramas or movies.

"So are you gonna cancel that date or was this a one off thing?" He gathers the courage to ask, but there’s no need for courage, because Steve’s all his.

"Uh, I can’t cancel it. I promised her I’ll be there. Like I said, she’s not very patient. But-" He punctuates the last word when Tony’s smile starts to fall, “I’ll be back for you, I promise."

Tony considers this. “Is she really that hot?" He questions, his fingers brushing over the fabric of Steve’s jacket. The Captain laughs, then replies, “I wouldn’t call her hot, but she’s really beautiful."

Tony sighs and surrenders. “Well tell her you’re taken, then get the fuck away, got that?" He removes his hands from Steve’s chest, and Steve chuckles as he kisses Tony’s lips once more, before walking over to the door.

Before he leaves, he shoots a look back at Tony, and gives his answer.

"I don’t think Peggy would be too happy if I did that."

The door shuts. Tony’s jaw slackens. The bastard- wait. Shit. He forgot the one most important thing he had to do. It was the whole point of this visit in the first place, for God’s sake. “I swear Stark you’re a fucking idiot when it comes to him." He mumbles to himself, then hurriedly sends Steve a text message.

So now will you move back to Stark tower? I miss you.

He refuses to put a sad face because it would seem needy and Tony Stark was not like that. Steve replied four seconds later.

Sure darling, whatever you say ;)

And this time, Tony’s finally sure that he’s won it all.


End file.
